Module 7: Attention Flashcards
ability to focus on specific stimuli. or locations in our environment
attention
attending to one thing while ignoring others
selective attention
paying attention to more than one thing at a time
divided attention
does not attend to large fraction of info
selective attention
selective processing filters some info and promote other info for _____
further processing
3 models of selective attention
early selection model: broadbent’s filter model
intermediate selection model: treisman’s attenuation model
late selection model: MacKay’s 19733
was designed to explain the results of an experiment done by Colin Cherry in 1953
broadbent’s filter model
who studied attention using dichotic listening
cherry
technique where dichotic means presenting different stimuli to left and right ears
dichotic listening
procedure of repeating the words they hear
shadowing
broadbent’s filter model shows the experiment on how
participants have to focus on the msg in one ear called attended ear, and repeat what they heard out loud
msg > SM > filter > detector > memory
attended msg (between filter and detector)
holds info for a fraction of sec
sensory memory
identifies attended msg based on physical characteristics
filter
processes all info to determine high level characteristics of the msg
detector
receives output of detector; holds infor for 10-15 sec & may transfer it to ltm
stm
limitations of broadbent’s filter model
name = cocktail party phenomenon
shadow meaningful msgs = dear aunt jane
attended msg can be separated from unattended msg early in the info-processing system
intermediate selection model
msg > attenuator > dictionary unit > to memory
attended msg & unattended msg (bet. attenuator & dictionary unit)
analyzes incoming msg in terms of physical characteristics, language, and meaning
attenuator
message that is let throught the attenuator in FULL STRENGTH
Attended message
message that is let throught the attenuator in WEAKER STRENGTH
unattended message
contains words, each of which has a threshold for being activated
dictionary unit
common or important words have ___ thresholds
low
uncommon words have ___ thresholds
high
meaning of biasing word affected participant’s choice but participants were unaware of the presentation of the biasing words
MacKay
ppl trying to ignore distracting stimuli when they focus their attention on a certain task
load theory of attention
amount of info a perosn can handle ¥& sets limit on their ability to process incoming info
processing capacity
difficulty of a task
perceptual load
tasks that use higher amounts of processing capacity
high-load
tasks that use lower amounts of processing capacity
low-load
name of the word interferes with the ability to name the ink color
stroop effect
rapid movements of the eye
saccades
short pauses on points of interest
fixations
areas that stand out and capture
stimulus salience
knowledge about what is contained in typical scenes
scene schema
directing attention without moving the eye
precueing
one to four characters called target stimuli
schneider and shiffrin 1977
memory set
could contain random dot patterns, a target, and distractors
test frames
occurs without intention and only uses some of a person’s cognitive resources
automatic processing
stimulus that is not attended is not perceived
inattentional blindness
moving from one place to another
location-based
attention being directed to one place on an object
object-based
static scenes
environment
dynamic events
specific object
differences between 2 images are not immediately apparent
change blindness
color, form, motion, and location are combined to create our perception of a coherent object
binding
feature integration theory
object > preattentive stage > focused attention stage > perception
analyzed into features
preattentive stage
combine features
focused attention stage
inability to focus attention on individual objects; ⬆️ number of illusory conjunctions were reported
balint’s syndrome
attention ENHANCES ______
neural responding
is distributed across a large number of areas in the brain
attentional processing
monitoring several sources of info to determine occurrence of a particular event
selective attention
two or more separate tasks are performed simultaneously
divided attention
attention over prolonged periods
sustained attention
